Research has shown that the success of human interpersonal relationships depends on complex interactions between a large number of variables including, but not limited to, personality, socioeconomic status, religion, appearance, ethnic background, energy level, education, interests and appearance. Matching services have developed effective systems that analyze these variables to identify and match people who have the potential to establish a successful relationship. A well-known example of such a service is eHarmony, Inc. (which can be found at www.eharmony.com). A matching service generally collects and stores data to create a “profile” for each user. The profile includes a number of factors potentially relevant to establishing a successful interpersonal relationship with that user. The matching service then correlates that user's profile with others in its database to assess which profiles are compatible, i.e., which users have the potential for a successful relationship when matched.
Many of these matching services are focused on self-identified traits and preferences, such as physical appearance, occupation, religion, sexual orientation, and geographical region. However, systems that focus solely on these self-identified traits and preferences can prevent possible matches between individuals that may be compatible yet fail to meet certain self-identified criteria. For example, two individuals may share deep psychological traits, such as curiosity and interests, that may not be self-identified. These individuals may have strong potential for a successful relationship, but if these individuals do not share certain self-identified traits and preferences, existing match systems may not ever connect them. Accordingly, alternative systems and methods for facilitating interpersonal relationships may be desirable.